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Mice - problem?

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I have mice living in my garden. When I tell people this, they are horrified and tell me to get the council in to get rid of them. I don't want to do this as I think they are quite cute really. My cat has taken an interest in them, and if this progresses to catching them, then at least this is the natural order of things and I will not be poisoning them.

 

I don't know if I am just too desensitised to them, because my parents' house where I grew up is no longer infested with mice - because rats have moved in. It just seems normal to have rats scrabbling up the wall while you're eating your dinner, and maybe it actually is a bit strange.

 

Do mice in the garden really pose any kind of threat, or can I leave them to get on with it?

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mice in the garden generally wont stay in the garden when winter comes and food gets scarcer. mice in the house is a big problem as food can be contaminated by them and they can also do a hell of a lot of damage eating carpets and furniture. if you dont want to poison them you can get people in to catch them i think. we just had to deal with some that had found the chicken feed in the shed, but most years we get mice coming in off the fields in autumn and trying to take up residence in the kitchen. when you open up a box of cereal and find mouse poo in it they become less appealing

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Rodents don't really bother me, but Nobby is right, they don't tend to stay outside and they can pose a health risk indoors. Odds are your cat will start brining them in and he won't kill them all.

 

Better to get rid really, just be cafeful how, you don't want to harm your cat.

 

Zen

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We have for years now lived right on the edge of agricultural areas so wild life including mice and rats are no stranger to our garden. Our house in rodent proof, so unless your house is in bad repair I dont see how they are going to get in unless they know where you keep the spare key.

 

For a while when we had some guinea pigs we had a mouse that lived under their cage and would pop through the wire mesh to help its self to their food. They had their own pet mouse.

Edited by chris54

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we live surrounded by fields on 3 sides, the sea on the other, and the mice always come in off the fields and get in our house - no idea how. most older houses wont be mouse proof as holes appear over the years.

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What kind of health risks can they pose if they get indoors? All my food is in top cupboards, no food near the floor. They could quite easily get behind the cupboards and up into them, but I don't think they could climb to the top cupboards. When we had them in my parents' house, we just washed up anything with droppings in before we cooked in it. Do you think that is adequate considering I don't think they have actually come indoors yet?

 

They don't stay still enough for me to get a proper look, but I think they are yellow-necked field mice.

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I just found this for you

 

 

 

 

 

Mice and rats contaminate the environments in which they live through their urine, droppings and hairs. They can carry a wide range of diseases that can be passed on to humans, either by directly contaminating food with droppings and urine, or by contaminating surfaces. Rats in particular can pass on Weil’s disease, which can be fatal to humans.

 

Rats can also cause extensive structural damage to property. They are capable of gnawing a range of materials including electric cables and wiring, which could cause fire or electrocution.

 

Reduce the risk of mice and rats in your home

 

Mice and rats may be discouraged and infestations prevented by improving hygiene and by blocking access points to your home:

 

* make sure that air bricks are in place and intact (do not block them)

* look for access points around gas, electricity and water pipes

* check that doors fit tightly

* fit cone guards around the bottom of drainpipes to prevent rats from climbing up – you’ll be able to get these from your local hardware or DIY store

* fit metal balloon guards to the bottom of drainpipes to prevent them climbing up the inside – again, you can get these from your local hardware store

 

Improved hygiene will restrict the availability of food for mice and rats, reducing the chances that they will remain and breed successfully. Examples of how hygiene can be improved are:

 

* store food carefully so that they do not have access to food sources

* sweep up any spills as soon as they happen

* remove rubbish

* clean up under work units and other areas where food debris can build up

Controlling mice

 

There are two methods of control available:

 

* trapping

* poison baiting

Controlling rats

 

Before you attempt to deal with a rat problem try to find out where rats are living, feeding and drinking, and the routes they take between these areas. Look for:

 

* holes and burrows

* runs and tracks

* droppings

* footprints

* other signs such as sightings or a musky smell

 

Find out how the rats are getting into your home – this can be done by blocking any holes with newspaper and coming back 24 hours later to see which holes have been re-opened. You can then take preventative action to permanently block the access holes.

 

 

 

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We have allotments behind our garden and they're full of mice. When we had a plum tree you could see them all running up and down the garden to get the windfall. We had one winter where they got into the house and I don't think we really got rid of them until we put poison down. They can get through the tiniest of spaces. Not been bothered again. We have plug-in anti-rodent things on the recommendation of my SIL and they seem to work.

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